


For a Moment, I Was King

by Diary



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Angst, Auror Harry Potter, Bechdel Test Fail, Character Death, Conversations, Family, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Heartbreak, Letters, Love, Minor Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Multi, Non-Canonical Character Death, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Post-Hogwarts AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 19:51:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6580105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Repost. "I made a promise to deliver all the letters should this happen." Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For a Moment, I Was King

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Harry Potter.

“Malfoy?”

Draco Malfoy sighs. “Potter, Augusta Longbottom is wandering around Diagon Alley in her nightdress with no shoes. I’m not sure she won’t hex me if I come near her.”

Harry Potter sighs and rubs his eyes. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

Draco ends the floo call, and Harry quickly gets dressed. He eyes briefly fall on a picture from the Prophet after the ministry battle Ginny has framed. Neville is smiling tentatively with his hand in Luna’s.

0

He finds Augusta Longbottom sitting under a tree in a soft chair. Luna Lovegood is sitting on one of the arms, her hand, and humming. “Oh, hello, Harry,” she says. “Neville’s ivy died last. Mrs Longbottom and I were thinking about relocating his other plants to Hogwarts. Professor Sprout has a better chance at establishing a bond with them, don’t you think?”

Taking a deep breath, he tries to compose himself.

The ivy liked to steal his glasses. It had a tendency to hit people, including Neville, when annoyed. He’d given it some muggle blocks, once, but he can’t remember when or why. He thinks he might have been trying to give it something to stave off the boredom while Neville was at his classes.

“Luna, Mrs Longbottom, why don’t I take you to Shell’s Cottage?”

Nodding, Luna stands up and says, “Come on, Mrs Longbottom. It’s much softer there. The waves are very soothing.”

Blankly, Augusta Longbottom allows herself to be pulled up. “When the potion wears off, things aren’t going to be well.”

He looks at Luna, and as she places Augusta’s hand in his, she explains, “The healers gave her a calming draught. She isn’t who she usually is. I suspect Elysian pixies might be involved. They-”

“Luna,” he interrupts. “Let’s just get her to Shell’s Cottage, okay?”

0

Ginny looks down at her set of gobstones.

Three hours before Harry returned, Neville had asked, ‘Fancy a match tomorrow morning?’

She remembers he was wearing his favourite pyjamas, the ones with bears on them, and was just about to go take a bath and change. According to Ron, he’d been wearing them since his first year. Neville once mentioned they were a present from a goblin friend when he was small.

Some of the others had teased him, but she can’t remember him ever genuinely getting annoyed. He’d laugh or roll his eyes or smack them upside the head. 

Harry hates crying, and the others- She’s crying, and she desperately hopes no one will come into the room unannounced.                                                                       

The image of him tired and worn yet still going on is so clear, and she’s terrified of losing it.

‘Yes,’ she’d answered.

As hard as she tries, she can’t remember the first time they played or how it came about. Over the years, though, they’d played.

‘Fancy a match tomorrow morning?’

‘Sure. Bet you the chocolate skeleton I got from Seamus against your bottle of butterbeer.’

‘You’re on.’

Choking back the sobs, she puts her forehead on her arms.

0

The goblin is tiny and fragile, still covered in bruises and cuts, and his eyes are tired and red. “Here.” He holds an envelope out. “I ask that you don’t tell Augusta. I made a promise to deliver all the letters should this happen, but she’s not ready at the moment.”

Harry accepts it. “Thank you,” he says. “How- how are you holding up, sir?”

Shaking his head, the goblin says, “I watched Frank go from a brave man, in love with life, to a literal shell. I watched Alice go from a vibrant woman, confident in who she was, to the same thing. But I held Neville when he was a baby, watched him go from a sweet boy to a wonderful man. I don’t know if Augusta can survive this.”

Bowing, he says, “Good day, Mister Potter.”

0

_Dear Harry,_

_I think I’m just as rubbish at writing letters as I am talking._

_Look, I have to believe you survive, that everyone I write to will, and that if I don’t, you’ll be reading this._

_So, don’t blame yourself._

_I made the choice to fight. Please, don’t tell anyone, but the truth is, I want to run. All the time. I want to hide and let everyone else deal with this._

_But besides my parents, there’s you and all the other people I care about._

_Thank you for always being nice to me. It meant more than I can ever say. You helped me become the man I want to be. You helped me be brave enough to fight._

_Don’t blame yourself, and please, look after all the others. Make sure my parents are safe, always be there for Luna, treat Ginny and Hermione right, and if there’s anything you can do for Gran, I’d appreciate it._

_Goodbye._

_Your friend,_

_Neville Argyle Longbottom_

0

_Dear Hermione,_

_I feel really weird writing this, but- Life is really short, sometimes. I hadn’t really understood that until recently. So, if you fancy Ron, you should go for it._

_I love you, Hermione. I don’t like some of the things you’ve done. Would you consider trying to make things right with Maria Edgecombe? But you’re still one of the best witches I’ve ever met._

_You helped me with my grades, and you helped me feel not so alone._

_I know you and Luna don’t always see eye-to-eye, but it’d mean a lot if you could make sure she always had a friend, too._

_I know you’re going to do even more brilliant things. Take care of yourself._

_Love,_

_Neville Argyle Longbottom_

0

_Dear Ron,_

_You and I were never really close, but I want to say thank you. You once told me to stand up to Malfoy, and you were always nice to me. You were one of the people responsible for me learning how to be brave, to fight for what’s right. Thank you._

_I’d like to think we could become real friends, eventually._

_Harry loves you, you know. He has since that first day on the train. Please, always be there for him._

_Unless I’m wrong, I know you and Hermione fancy one another. Make a move, already. Treat her right, yeah? And be nice to Luna. She’s always been fond of you._

_Signed,_

_Neville Argyle Longbottom_

0

_Dear Seamus,_

_Take care of yourself. I hope more than anything that Dean comes back. I don’t know if you’re in love with him or if he’s your brother, but I know how much you love him._

_It’s just, if he doesn’t come back, please, find a way to be okay._

_You’ve been scaring me, lately, and I’m trying to find out a way to tell you._

_You were always nice to me, and you’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever met._

_I remember when you saw that Harry was telling the truth. You stood up right in the middle of the Great Hall and apologised, said you were wrong. Harry has more than one reason to fight, and Hermione wants to change the world, and Ron loves them both. And I suppose with your dad being muggle and Dean being muggle-born, you have reasons, too, but you just did that because it was right. You could have done it privately, but you let everyone know that you were wrong and that you were sorry._

_Just if, nothing else, take care of yourself because it’s my last request to you._

_Signed,_

_Neville Argyle Longbottom_

0

_Dear Ginny,_

_I’ve written several letters, but this one might be the hardest._

_Thank you for being my friend. Until my third year, I never had a real friend. And you changed my life completely. I love you._

_I hope you and Harry are happy together. Always look out for Luna for me, yeah?_

_Love,_

_Neville Argyle Longbottom_

_P.S. You laughing means you ought to spend the rest of your life feeling guilty for hexing me when I laughed at Ginevra being your real name._

0

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_I love you._

_I won’t lie and say I grew up just fine without the two of you, but I don’t blame either of you. I have a lot of classmates that wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for you. Hearing stories about you made me determined to be a good person, a good man, someone the two of you could be proud of._

_I’ve always been proud to be your son, and I hope that someday, the three of us can be a real family._

_Love,_

_Neville Argyle Longbottom_

0

_Teller Bornuk,_

_If I don’t make it, I hope I tell you this before you read the letter, but in case I don’t, even though I’ve never said it before, I want you to know I love you._

_I know you love me and Gran, just like I know you love my parents._

_Thank you for being such a good friend to Gran._

_That said, I know you’re in love with her, and I know she’s feels the same. I know Gran isn’t a coward. But you always hide behind things. Assuming I died a heroic death, you can stop being a bloody coward and be with her._

_If I didn’t, I was still damn brave this year at Hogwarts, so, you can be, too._

_Thank you for helping Gran with me and for showing me what a good man looks like. It means more than I can say._

_Love,_

_Neville Argyle Longbottom_

0

_Dear Luna,_

_I hope all your dreams come true._

_You once asked me if I’d change all the things I regret if I could. I said yes._

_But the real answer is no. I just didn’t know that until we got together._

_I was in love with you, Luna Beatrice Lovegood, and I am right now. I’ve always been unhappy and lonely, even with Ginny’s friendship and Bornuk looking out for me, and if I could get my parents back, have a life with them, I would. Sorry, I don’t mean that badly, but even what we had wouldn’t be enough to make me give up a life with them if it meant not being with you._

_I keep trying to write what I mean without it looking bad, and I just don’t think I can, but I hope you understand._

_But everything else, I wouldn’t change, because it made me into the man I am, and it led me to you._

_Try not to be sad for me. I’m more scared than ever of dying, but if I do, it’s alright. That night we spent together after you came back, well, just for a while, everything was right. I remember, I used to be jealous whenever the Gryffindors would sing Weasley is Our King. That night, though, I felt like a king. And if I knew I was going to die fighting, I’d still do it, but I wouldn’t want to know. I’d want to go on, just feeling happy._

_I never had the courage to ask if you were in love with me. Whatever the answer, I hope you fall in love one day. Just make sure he or she treats you right and knows how special you really are. If they don’t, then, as my last request, give up on them and find someone better, even if it breaks your heart._

_I have a favour to ask. If my parents ever get better, would you please go see them? Introduce yourself, and tell them how I felt about you. I’d want them to know you._

_I love you, Luna._

_Love,_

_Neville Argyle Longbottom_

0

_Gran,_

_I love you, and I’m proud to be your grandson._

_Take care of Mum, Dad, and Bornuk._

_Love,_

_Neville Argyle Longbottom_

0

Quietly, Bornuk sits down next Augusta.

“What else is there?”

Taking her hand, he kisses it. “Life, I suppose, is the only real answer.”

Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath, and her body begins to shake.

Luna’s head appears in the doorway, and she tilts her head at Bornuk. He nods, and she comes in and sits down on the other side of Augusta. Kissing her cheek, she says, “I love your grandson, Mrs Longbottom. I always will. If there’s anything I can do to help, please, tell me.”

“Thank you, dear,” Augusta says. Opening her eyes and squeezing Bornuk’s hand, she tells them, “Right now, I’m just going to sit here and try to- I’m just going to sit for a while.”


End file.
